Croydon councillor Emily Benn is to resign from her position less than two years after being elected.

The West Thornton Labour councillor, granddaughter of late party grandee Tony, announced her departure today in a Facebook post after accepting a job offer in New York.

In the post, she wrote of the "huge privilege" of representing her constituents.

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She added: "With regret, I am announcing my resignation as a local councillor for West Thornton with effect from Thursday, March 24. Having recently been promoted, I have been offered and accepted a fantastic new opportunity by my employer to work in New York.

"Inevitably, I will unable to represent my constituents from New York, so I am very sorry to have to resign my seat."

Cllr Benn, 26, paid tribute to her fellow West Thornton councillors Stuart King and Bernadette Khan and thanked Labour activists in the area for their "help and support".

She added: "I wish the Croydon Labour administration every continued success in fighting and delivering for the people of Croydon."

Cllr Benn, the niece of shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, was elected as a councillor in May 2014 with 2,461 votes - more than any other West Thornton candidate.

She unsuccessfully stood for election as MP for Croydon South last year, losing out to Conservative Chris Philp.

Her resignation as councillor will trigger a by-election in West Thornton, a Labour stronghold.

The last by-election in the borough took place in Selhurst in March 2015, following the death of longstanding Labour councillor Gerry Ryan.

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